Comments on: Maybe Silicon Valley companies succeed because their founders care more about what they do than where they do ithttp://pando.com/2013/07/22/maybe-silicon-valley-companies-succeed-because-their-founders-care-more-about-what-they-do-than-where-they-do-it/
speaking truth to the new powerTue, 03 Mar 2015 20:05:19 +0000hourly1http://wordpress.com/By: daveplantzhttp://pando.com/2013/07/22/maybe-silicon-valley-companies-succeed-because-their-founders-care-more-about-what-they-do-than-where-they-do-it/#comment-61223
Tue, 23 Jul 2013 14:32:48 +0000http://pandodaily.com/?p=96852#comment-61223I like your post Sarah but I feel like you’re talking past the argument a bit. You’re arguing the intangible spirit while others argue infrastructure, concentration of talent / wealth, and other more systemic issues that keep different cities, or more importantly, the startups in those locales, from succeeding.
You’ll get no complaint from me about separating a startup’s purpose from a lifestyle aspiration often idolized by blogs or mimicked by Hollywood. Nor will you get a complaint from me about how the more you care, the better you are. Total agreement with that.
I just would challenge that there are a lot of people outside the valley who care about what they do. To claim that they’re in it for the wrong reasons, seems more like a broad generalization that could apply to people inside and outside the valley.
Going back to the intangible stuff for a second – I’ve never been a fan of the “Who/What/Where will be the next _______?” Be it the next Nirvana, Hollywood, Silicon Valley, Portland, Facebook, President, Big Thing, etc. If your goal is to be the answer to that question, you already have the wrong motives. Just be your idea or your city or you.
Authenticity, timing, and creating a receptive audience determine much of our success but we can only control so much of that. Anyways, FWIW, enjoyed your post. Hopefully I don’t come across as a troll or anything… lol.
]]>By: davepazhttp://pando.com/2013/07/22/maybe-silicon-valley-companies-succeed-because-their-founders-care-more-about-what-they-do-than-where-they-do-it/#comment-61215
Tue, 23 Jul 2013 07:42:42 +0000http://pandodaily.com/?p=96852#comment-61215Excellent comment! (That equals more than a “like”)
]]>By: davepazhttp://pando.com/2013/07/22/maybe-silicon-valley-companies-succeed-because-their-founders-care-more-about-what-they-do-than-where-they-do-it/#comment-61216
Tue, 23 Jul 2013 07:42:42 +0000http://pandodaily.com/?p=96852#comment-61216Excellent comment! (That equals more than a “like”)
]]>By: cynthiaschameshttp://pando.com/2013/07/22/maybe-silicon-valley-companies-succeed-because-their-founders-care-more-about-what-they-do-than-where-they-do-it/#comment-61205
Tue, 23 Jul 2013 04:00:21 +0000http://pandodaily.com/?p=96852#comment-61205This is good. I am so sick of “startup” being a lifestyle for people. It’s not. It’s adolescence. The goal is to grow up, into a real company. And by real company I do NOT mean “raise $74 million dollars to sell pants online, not be profitable yet, and be hailed a genius for it”. I mean an actual, real business that’s making money on its own.
Don’t misunderstand me: I believe in and deeply value angels and VCs; without them the majority of startups (including my own) would be stillborn.
But everyone has to move on to solid food at some point. Figure out a business model, test/iterate/test/iterate and continually execute on it, while charging actual dollars to people. That’s a BUSINESS. And it’s hard. But that’s adulthood.
Leave the whole ecosystem frenzy to those with the luxury of time and/or money to spend on non-revenue-generating activities. Like, say, those investors I just mentioned. It’s in everyone’s best interests that they invest themselves into making their chosen ecosystems flourish. But if you’re an entrepreneur and you give more than a passing fart about whether “your” city is somehow “catching up”…you’re wasting time you should be working.
And with that, I’m going back to work.
]]>By: contentdjapphttp://pando.com/2013/07/22/maybe-silicon-valley-companies-succeed-because-their-founders-care-more-about-what-they-do-than-where-they-do-it/#comment-61163
Mon, 22 Jul 2013 21:03:02 +0000http://pandodaily.com/?p=96852#comment-61163elicolner Completely agreed!
I think at a micro-level, company needs to fix a problem or
address an unmet need. This is a prerequisite for becoming a revenue generating
company.
When you have a sustainable business in hand, then you can think
about how to change the world.
Companies created with the grand goal of changing the world rarely make it. Often, the definition of value is unclear in the founders’ head.
]]>By: contentdjapphttp://pando.com/2013/07/22/maybe-silicon-valley-companies-succeed-because-their-founders-care-more-about-what-they-do-than-where-they-do-it/#comment-61164
Mon, 22 Jul 2013 21:03:02 +0000http://pandodaily.com/?p=96852#comment-61164elicolner Completely agreed!
I think at a micro-level, company needs to fix a problem or
address an unmet need. This is a prerequisite for becoming a revenue generating
company.
When you have a sustainable business in hand, then you can think
about how to change the world.
Companies created with the grand goal of changing the world rarely make it. Often, the definition of value is unclear in the founders’ head.
]]>By: elicolnerhttp://pando.com/2013/07/22/maybe-silicon-valley-companies-succeed-because-their-founders-care-more-about-what-they-do-than-where-they-do-it/#comment-61156
Mon, 22 Jul 2013 19:57:45 +0000http://pandodaily.com/?p=96852#comment-61156NEWSFLASH: Stop trying to change the world. Participation is HARD ENOUGH.
This myth that startups aspire to “change the world” is a fallacy. Do some companies change the world? Certainly. Do they set out to change the world explicitly? I think that’s a mistake of EPIC proportions. Focus on participation because real change is a deep deep rabbit hole.
]]>By: contentdjapphttp://pando.com/2013/07/22/maybe-silicon-valley-companies-succeed-because-their-founders-care-more-about-what-they-do-than-where-they-do-it/#comment-61152
Mon, 22 Jul 2013 19:47:10 +0000http://pandodaily.com/?p=96852#comment-61152David Repas Yeah, I actually quoted John Doerr in my article http://blog.contentdj.com/2013/07/20/why-canada-has-no-big-tech-companies/ :)
]]>By: contentdjapphttp://pando.com/2013/07/22/maybe-silicon-valley-companies-succeed-because-their-founders-care-more-about-what-they-do-than-where-they-do-it/#comment-61153
Mon, 22 Jul 2013 19:47:10 +0000http://pandodaily.com/?p=96852#comment-61153David Repas Yeah, I actually quoted John Doerr in my article http://blog.contentdj.com/2013/07/20/why-canada-has-no-big-tech-companies/ :)
]]>By: David Repashttp://pando.com/2013/07/22/maybe-silicon-valley-companies-succeed-because-their-founders-care-more-about-what-they-do-than-where-they-do-it/#comment-61151
Mon, 22 Jul 2013 19:41:32 +0000http://pandodaily.com/?p=96852#comment-61151contentdjapp David Repas Thanks for the reply. I was actually quoting something John Doerr apparently said quite often (according to Vinod Khosla) – http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/07/13/khosla-the-silicon-valley-vision/ – Although I’m sure the saying “Silicon Valley is not a place but a state of mind” has been said by quite a few people over the years – that’s why I didn’t attribute it to anyone specifically :o)
]]>